Delightful Holiday Destination

Jeffreys Bay is renowned worldwide as a delightful holiday and retirement centre and today has developed so to include Aston Bay, Kabeljous-on-Sea township and Paradise Beach.

Commerce

Jeffreys Bay is the home of thriving handcraft industries. Other venues include surf shops, hand-crafted leather shoes and hand-crafted shell art. Jeffreys is also the hub of the calamari industry of the Eastern Cape, and is thus in the fortunate position of being able to supply visitors with this delicacy in abundance.

Surf

Jeffreys Bay is world renowned for its safe beaches and surfing waves, with many different surf breaks, each possessing its own magic. Surfing spots include Kitchen Window, Tubes, Super Tubes, Point and Albatross.

Fauna and Flora

These beaches have an abundance of shells, and are known for good angling. People with a real interest in nature will enjoy the recreation offered by the three nature reserves, under the management of the Cape Nature Conservation. Although small in size, they offer peace and tranquillity and some hiking trails. For hikers there are even more trails, however, and these include the Cape St Francis Nature Reserve, Tsitsikamma Hiking Trail and the trails in the Baviaanskloof.

How Jeffreys Bay acquired its name

The town is named after Captain Jeffreys who sailed his cargo ship up and down the East Coast of South Africa on trading expeditions in the 1840’s. During one of these trips an epidemic of scurvy broke out aboard his ship. He was forced to land his vessel and soon he realized the potential of the place where he had landed and built a primitive port on what is now the main beach. He erected the first house, a huge double-story mansion that was always known as “The White House” in 1850 and his family became the first White family to settle in the town.

In 1852 Captain Jeffrey bought erf numbers 1,2,9 and 10 for a total of 79 British pounds.